sop_54v5atterberglimits.pdf
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Questa Rock Pile Stability Study SOP 54v5 Page 1
DRAFT
STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE NO. 54
ATTERBERG LIMITS
REVISION LOG
Revision Number Description Date
54 Original SOP written by LFG 6/04/04
54.1 Revisions by LFG based on comments by CTM 8/19/04
54.2 Headers and Footers added by PJP 8/26/04
54.3 Revisions by FFJ/BEB (UBC) 2/02/05
54v4 Changes accepted and sent to Jack Hamilton to post towebsite LMK
8/18/05
54.5 Revisions by RDL 10/07/05
54v5 Edits LMK 10/7/05
1. PURPOSE AND SCOPE
This Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) provides technical guidance and procedures
that will be employed for Atterberg limits tests. It addresses equipment, procedures, and
personnel responsibilities. Atterberg limits tests consist of two tests called Plastic Limit,
PL, and Liquid Limit, LL. The tests determine the consistency of clay and are used tocharacterize the fine-grained fractions of soils. The liquid limit, plastic limit and plasticity
index of soils are also used extensively, either individually or together with other soil properties, to correlate with engineering behavior such as compressibility, permeability,
compactibility, shrink-swell and shear strength.
2. RESPONSIBILITIES AND QUALIFICATIONS
The Team Leader and Characterization Team will have the overall responsibility for
implementing this SOP. They will be responsible for assigning appropriate staff to
implement this SOP and for ensuring that the procedures are followed accurately.
All personnel performing these procedures are required to have the appropriate health andsafety training. In addition, all personnel are required to have a complete understanding
of the procedures described within this SOP, and to receive specific training regarding
these procedures, if necessary.
All environmental staff and assay laboratory staff are responsible for reporting deviations
from this SOP to the Team Leader.
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3. DATA QUALITY OBJECTIVES
This SOP addresses objective 8 where sampling is required in the data quality objectiveoutline by Virginia McLemore for the "Geological and Hydrological Characterization at
the Molycorp Questa Mine, Taos County, New Mexico”:
- Determine if the geotechnical and geochemical characteristics of the bedrock
(foundation) underlying the rock piles influences the rock pile stability.- Determine if the geotechnical characteristics of the rock pile material influences the
rock pile stability.
4. RELATED STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES
The procedures set forth in this SOP are intended for use with the following SOPs:
• SOP 1 - Data management (including verification and validation)
• SOP 2 - Sample management (chain of custody)
• SOP 4 - Taking photographs
• SOP 5 - Sampling outcrops, rock piles, and drill core (solid)
• SOP 6 - Drilling, logging, and sampling of subsurface materials (solid)• SOP 9 - Test pit excavation, logging, and sampling (solid)
• SOP 36 - Sample preservation, storage, and shipment
• SOP 40 - Gravimetric moisture content
This SOP is intended for use with ASTM D 4318 (Appendix 2).
5. EQUIPMENT LIST
The following materials are required for conducting Atterberg limits tests.
• Liquid limit device
• ASTM “Casagrande” grooving tool• Ceramic bowl
• Spatula
• Wash bottle
• Distilled water
• Balance (0.01g sensitivity)
• Drying oven
• No. 40 sieve, pan and lid
• Plastic limit glass plate.
• 25 ml graduated cylinder
• Aluminum moisture cans• Rod comparator (3 mm diameter rod, 10 cm long)
• Test forms (Appendix 1) • Indelible black ink pen
6. SAMPLE PREPARATION
Sample preparation for Liquid Limit and Plastic Limit tests:
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- Obtain a representative portion from the total sample sufficient to provide 150 to
200 g of material passing the No.40 sieve (425μm).
- Add distilled water to the material and adjust the water content of the mixture, if
necessary, by adding small increments if it’s too dry or by allowing the mixture to
dry at room temperature while mixing in a bowl if it is too wet. Stir the material
until a consistent mixture is achieved. The material should be at a water contentthat would require 25 to 35 blows of the liquid limit device to close the groove.
- Put the mixed material in the storage dish, cover with an appropriate lid or parafilm to prevent loss of moisture, and allow to stand (cure) at room
temperature for at least 16 hours.
- After the standing period and immediately before starting the test, thoroughly
remix the specimen with the spatula.
7. TEST PROCEDURES
a) Liquid Limit Test
1. Adjust the height of drop of the cup so that the point on the cup that comes in contactwith the base rises to a height of 10 ± 0.2 mm at it’s maximum range. The block atthe end of the grooving tool handle is a 10 mm gage. Place the 10 mm block edge at
the worn spot on the base. Rotate the handle – there should be no discernible click or
bump of the cup.
2. Before starting this test, remove approximately 20 g of material and place it on theglass plate to be used for the plastic limit test.
3. Place a portion of the prepared sample in the cup of the liquid limit device; smooth it
with the spatula to a uniform thickness along the cup vertical center (see Fig. 6 of the
attached ASTM guideline). The soil pat should fill the cup to the same level that
water would stand without overflowing the edge of the cup. The soil pat should not beover 10 mm deep.
4. Using the grooving tool, cut a groove in the soil from back to front. The tool is held
perpendicular to the inside surface of the cup, beveled edge toward the front, as thetool follows the curve of the cup while making the groove.
5. Verify that no crumbs of soil are present on the base or the underside of the cup. Lift
and drop the cup by turning the crank at a rate 2 drops per second until the two halves
of soil pat come in contact at the bottom of the groove for a distance of 13mm (1/2 in;see Fig. 7 of the attached ASTM guideline).
6. Remove the soil from the liquid limit device and remix it. Wash and dry the LL cup at
this time. Then repeat steps 2, 3, and 4 until three consistent blow counts are achievedfor the water content.
7. Record the number of drops required to close the groove. Take a moisture sample by
removing a portion of the sample the approximate width of the spatula across the area
where the soil pat is in contact. This sample should extend from edge to edge across
the soil pat perpendicular to the groove. Determine its water content according to theSOP 40 (gravimetric moisture content).
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8. Remove the remainder of the soil from the LL cup and return it to the mixing dish.
Wash and dry the LL cup.
9. Remix the entire soil specimen in the ceramic bowl adding distilled water to increasethe water content of the soil and decrease the number of blows required to close the
groove. Repeat step 1 through 7 for at least two additional trials producing
successively lower numbers of blows to close the groove. The three trials shall be fora closure requiring 25 to 35 blows, one for a closure between 20 and 30 blows, and
one trial for a closure requiring 15 to 25 blows.
b) Plastic Limit Test
1. Use the 20 g portion of soil from the prepared sample that was removed before the
Liquid Limit test.
2. Reduce the water content of the soil to a consistency at which it can be rolled withoutsticking to the hands by spreading and mixing it continuously by hand on the glass
plate.3. Select a 6 to 7 g specimen for testing.
4. Roll the specimen between the palm or fingers on the ground glass plate to form athread of uniform diameter.
5. Add little amounts of distilled water, if necessary, and continue rolling the thread
until it reaches a uniform diameter of 3.2mm (1/8 in) and a length of 10 cm (4 in)
within 2 minutes. Use the rod comparator to check the diameter and length.
6. Once the diameter is reached break the thread into pieces, gather the portions of thecrumbled thread together and roll them back into a ball. Roll this ball out until it
reaches 3.2 mm (1/8 in.) in diameter and repeat the procedure until the thread is
crumbling and cannot be rolled back into a ball. Repeat steps 4 through 6 untilapproximately 6 g of material is available (see Fig. 8 of the attached ASTM
guideline). Collect the pieces and place them in a container to determine the soilmoisture according to SOP 40 (gravimetric moisture content).
7. Repeat steps 3 through 6 two times to compute an average plastic limit for the
sample.
8. If the difference in moisture content between the two trials is greater than 1.4%, the
plastic limit test should be repeated.
8. QUALITY ASSURANCE/QUALITY CONTROL NMBGMR will archive all samples for future studies.
9. DATA ANALYSIS AND CALCULATIONS
If either the liquid limit or plastic limit cannot be determined, the plasticity index cannot be computed and should be reported as “NP” (indicating nonplastic). The plasticity index
should also be reported as “NP” if the plastic limit turns out to be greater than or equal to
the liquid limit. For very sandy soil, the plastic limit test should be performed before the
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liquid limit test; if it cannot be determined, both the liquid and the plastic limit should be
reported as “NP”.
Liquid Limit, LL
Plot the relationship between the water content and the corresponding number of drops of
the cup on a semi-logarithmic graph with the water content ordinates on the arithmeticalscale, and the number of drops as abscissas on the logarithmic scale. Draw the best
straight line through the three or more plotted points.
Obtain the water content corresponding to the intersection of the line with 25 drops on
the abscissa as the liquid limit, LL, of the soil.
Plastic Limit, PL
Compute the average of the water contents obtained from the two plastic limit tests. The plastic limit, PL, is the average of the two water contents.
Plasticity Index, PI
The plasticity index is determined by subtracting the plastic limit from the liquid limit. In
equation form, PI = LL – PL.
10. DATA AND RECORDS MANAGEMENT
Fill out the Atterberg Limits test form (Appendix 1).
11. REFERENCES and Sources for more Information
ASTM D 4318-00. Standard Test Method For Liquid Limit, Plastic Limit and PlasticityIndex of Soils, Holtz, Robert D. and Kovaks, William D., 1981, An Introduction to
Geotechnical Engineering, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.Liu, C. and Evett, Jack B., 2003, Soil Properties: testing, measurements, and evaluation, 5
th
edition, Upper Saddle River, NJ.
Bowles, Joseph E., 1992, Engineering properties of soils and their measurement, 4th edition,
New York, NY.
APPENDIX 1. FORMS
APPENDIX 2. ASTM D 4318 Note: See electronic version of this document (on CD)
for ASTM D 4318
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APPENDIX 1- FORMS
Atterburg Limits Test Sheet
Project: Molycorp
Analyzed By: __________________________ Initials: _____ Date: __________
Sample Field ID: _______________________
Liquid Limits Plastic Limits1 2 3 1 2
Tare No.
Tare Mass (g)
Tare + Wet Soil (g)
Tare + Dry Soi l (g)
Mass Dry Soil (g)Water Content (%)
Number of Blows
Liquid Limit (LL)
Plastic Limit (PL)
Plasticity Index (PI)
Symbol from PlasticityChart
1 10 100
Number of Blows
30
35
40
45
50
W a t e r C o n t e n t ( % )
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